Furnace-door opener.



T. RANKIN.

FURNACE DOOR OPENER.

APPLIGATION FILED JAN.12, 1912.

Patented June 16,1914.

[Wall/2i];

COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH 60., WASHINGTON. D. c.

TICE RANKIN, OF OKEENE, OKLAHOMA.

FURNACE-DOOR OPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1914.

Application filed January 12, 1912. Serial No. 670,831.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I; Tron RA IN, a citizen of the United States, residingat Okeene, in the county of Blaine and State of Oklahoma, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Furnace-Door Openers, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in furnace dooropeners and closers or operating devices therefor and the primary objectof the invention is to provide an improved novel and simple form ofoperating device whereby furnace doors of any approved type may beopened and closed very readily and quickly so as to permit an inspectionof the fire or feeding the fuel into the furnace without the necessityof opening the door by hand or retain ing the door in an open positionan unnecessary length of time.

Another important object of the inventlon is to provide an improved footoperated mechanism adapted for use with a furnace door having a latchmember and in which the operation of the device will simultaneouslyrelease the latch and swing the door to an open position.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainother combinations and arrangements of parts as will be hereinafter morefully described and claimed, it being a still further object of theinvention to provide a device which will not be likely to get out ofworking order.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a perspec tive view of a portion of afurnace showing my improved operating mechanism connected to the doorthereof and with the door closed. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of thedevice in an open position partly in section. Fig. 3 is a plan view ofthe device with the door extending at right angles to the front wall ofthe furnace. Fig. 4 is a detail view of a certain latch and bell crankused herewith.

Referring to the drawings in detail, there is shown a front wall 10 of afurnace which is provided with the usual feed opening 11 over which aswinging door 12 operates. The door 12 has secured thereto a pair ofleaf hinges 13 which are provided with outwardly extending right angularportions 14: bent forwardly of their inner edges and engaged outwardlyby a pair of bearing ears 15 similarly bent from the upper and loweredge of a bearing plate 16 which is riveted or otherwise securedto thefront wall 10. A pintle rod 17 is journaled in the ears 15 and 15 andextends downward to the base plate 18 which is secured to the floor infront of the furnace. Said base plate extends outward from the frontwall of the furnace for a considerable distance and supportscertainparts of the operating devices as will be hereinafter described.

A bearing strap 19 is secured to the door 12 adjacent its free edge andhas a pivotal latch member 20 movable vertically therein and projectingbeyond the strap to engage a notched keeper 21 secured to the adjacentportion. of the front wall of the furnace whereby the door is held in aclosed position, in which position the adjacent edges of the door andbearing plate 16 are in contact to insure proper closing of the door andpermit accurate hanging thereof. Mounted beneath the latch member 20which is pivotally connected to the door as shown at 22 is an angularear 23 which has an angular trigger or lifter lever 24 pivotallyconnected thereto, said trigger or latch lifting member constituting abell crank and having its lower portion or horizontally extending arm 25provided with a straight upper edge, to engage the lower edge of thelatch 20; while the upwardly extending arm 26 is disposed in front ofand slightly above the upper edge of the latch 20, for a purpose to behereinafter made apparent.

Rotatably mounted on the pintles 17, beneath the hinged connections isan operating rod 27 which is supported for rotation inde pendent of thepintle upon a radially extending bearing plate or arm 28 secured to itslower end and rotatably supported upon the base plate 18. At the pointwhere the pintle extends through the upper end of the operating rod 27said rod is bent inwardly or laterally at right angles as shown at 29and then vertically upward as shown at 30 and terminates in a furtherlaterally extended portion or horizontally disposed tapered arm 31, thefree or tapered endthereof being disposed between the door inwardly ofthe bearing strap 19 and the trigger member or latch lifting member atits portion 26 and adapted to engage said trigger member or latchlifting member by inward movement or rotation to raise the latch andswing the door to an open position. In order to operate the door in thismanner, a right angular foot lever 32 provided with a horizontallydisposed or twisted tread portion 33 at its outer end, is pivotallymounted be tween a pair of bearing ears 34:, the said por tion 32forming the longer arm of the lever while the shorter arm 35 extendsupwardly and is provided with an outwardly extending projection 36 whichretains and supports the outer end of a fiat operating rod or link 37which is apertured and loosely engaged thereon. The rod or link 37 hasits inner end offset downwardly and pivotally connected to the free endof the bearing plate 28 as shown at 38. The bearing plate 28 extends inthe same direction as the arm 31 and is disposed adjacent to the frontwall of the furnace when the door is in an open or in a closed positionas shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, being held in such positionby means of a coiled spring 39 which is secured at its inner end to thebase plate 18 as shown at 4:0 and it is connected at its outer end to ahook member 41 carried beneath the rod or link 37 so as to exert pullupon said rod, and normally raise the foot lever or pedal to anoperative position.

In the operation of opening and closing the door, it is only necessaryto step upon the foot lever or depress the same which will exert pullupon the connecting rod 37 and rotate the rod member 27 through the me-7 dium of the bearing arm or plate 28 and thus swing the arm 31 againstthe vertical portion 26 of the trigger or latch lifting lever to rotatethe same 011 its pivot and move its lower portion 25 upwardly to raisethe latch 20 from engagement with the keeper 21, and open the door bycontinued outward movement of the arm 31 against the portion 26 of thetrigger or latch lifting lever whereby its momentum will carry it beyondthe central position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, when the spring 39will operate to force it to an open position as shown in Fig. 2. Inclosing the door the foot lever is actuated in the same manner to rotatethe arm 31 in the opposite direction when it will engage with the outerface of the door and when swung to a closed position the latch willautomatically engage with the keeper and hold the door closed.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a very simple and positivelyoperating or door opening device for the purpose specified which willpermit convenient operation 3 of the door without feeling the extremeheat from the furnace and obvlating the necessity of retaining the doorin an open position Copies of this patent may be obtained for five centsuntil all the fuel has been supplied to the furnace and therebylengthening the life of the furnace.

I wish to have it understood that I may make such changes in theconstruction and modification of the invention as fairly fall within thescope of the appended claims, it being further understood that thedevice under the statutes is protected for all desirable uses to whichit may be put.

I claim 1. The combination with a vertical pintle and a door having ahorizontally disposed latch and being mounted to be swung on saidvertical pintle, of a rotatable shaft mounted concentrically with saidpintle and having a laterally extending lower arm and a laterallyextending upper arm, a bell crank pivotally mounted on the door andhaving one of its arms in contact with the lower edge of the latch andits other arm extending to a plane above the latch, said upper arm beingextended between the door and the upwardly extending arm of the bellcrank, a. pedal, a link connecting the pedal with the lower arm of therotatable shaft, and a spring engaged with the link for forcing andnormally holding the link in the direction of the rotatable shaft,whereby the latter may be rotated through approximately one hundred andeighty degrees for coacting with the bell crank and thereby lifting thelatch and swinging the door into open position, and whereby the door maybe swung into closed position by the same movement of the pedal whichcaused the door to be opened.

2. In combination, a door having a latch thereon, a keeper for thelatch, a latch litting lever pivotally mounted on the door in contiguitywith the latch, an arm pivotally mounted adjacent to the door andextending into contiguity with the lever, a pedal, a link Econnected tothe pedal, means for pivotally Econnecting the link with the said arm,and

a spring connected to said link for moving and normally holding the linkin the direction of the door and in such relation that when the pedal isoperated it coacts with the link and the spring and the said arm foractuating the latch ifting lever and opening the door and closing thedoor.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

TICE RANKIN.

Witnesses RAY J. SMITH, It. C. BIsH.

each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G.

